Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall are set to put a controversial rivalry to bed in early 2023 – and it appears promoter Ben Shalom is keen to avoid any score card confusion this time around.
Taylor defended his undisputed super lightweight titles against Jack Catterall in February of this year.
The Scottish champion won, however there was outcry post-fight as many fans, pundits, and fellow fighters felt Catterall had done more than enough to take the victory and the belts.
Shalom, to his credit, was outspoken int he aftermath of the decision, saying that at that moment he was ’embarrassed.’ He told Seconds Out fans could expect ‘something different.’
“I think Taylor-Catterall II will be the first fight where we introduce something. You will see it early next year. And yes, look, we want to see a lot of change in the sport. We’ve seen that with judging, we’ve seen that with regulation, we’ve seen that with doping. Everything. We are working hard.
That’s why we wanted to come into the sport. We’ve proven a lot in terms of shows and signings, and I feel next year will be an even bigger year for us and something Sky has committed to as well. I’m hoping Taylor-Catterall II could be a fitting way to see something different.”
Shalom, the head of BOXXER who partner with Sky Sports, went on to say what that change may be.
“I think for the big fights a lot of people want to see a different way of judging the fight, or maybe more judges, or maybe judges in the [TV] trucks. We’ve seen it everywhere in every other sport they do everything they can to get big decisions right.
And there’s no sport where winning and losing matters more than boxing. Something we are constantly pushing forward, something Sky and Adam Smith are massive advocates for.”
The rematch was initially set to land on February 4 in Glasgow, however recent reports suggest a delay until March to avoid coming too close to another pay-per-view in Chris Eubank Jr versus Liam Smith.